Fighting for Survival
by FireEMT86
Summary: Casey and Severide are trapped in a building collapse. After being rescued, one fights for survival.
1. Chapter 1

Drip…Drip drip…drip. Darkness is all he could see. Water dripping is all he could hear. And smoke is all he could smell. Smoke?! He wrestled with the thought of waking up and trying to figure out a way out of wherever they were. Wait, Kelly? Where is Severide? He attempted to move and pain shot clear up his back and neck. His shoulder and arm hurt too.

"Severide?" He attempted to yell, but it only came out in a whisper. Damn! "Severide, call out!"

He waited for some kind of response. Nothing came except for a creak and shift in the building above. Matt Casey realized what had happened at that point. He remembered him and Severide were on the 4th floor of the apartment complex evacuating civilians. Visions of Severide yelling at him to hurry on getting the last civilian out when they heard the call for the "mayday" from Chief Boden. The last thing he could remember was looking at Severide and falling. He winced as another pain shot through him and darkness overtook him once again…

***4 hours earlier***

Walking in to the station Lt. Matthew Casey scanned the bay area to see if anyone of his crew members were there before him. Finding none were in the bays he continued to his office and set his bag down and then proceeded to the kitchen/living area, finding that most of the squad and truck crew were there he settled in next to Hermann with his cup of coffee that Candidate Peter Mills had so graciously provided.

Hearing the door open he turned to see Lt. Kelly Severide of Squad 3 walk in, "morning Lt.," a mixture of hellos were said to the Lt. Casey looked at him and nodded his head and focused his attention back to his coffee. Severide disappeared to his quarters.

Matt zoned out for a moment when laughter erupted from Hadley and Hermann. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes and vacated outside for some fresh air.

"Hey!" Casey turned to see Dawson walking to him.

"Hey yourself!" He replied, squinting from the bright sun.

"You ok? You seem distracted today. It's not like you." Dawson clearly concerned for the Lt.

"I'm good…really…just a rough night. Didn't sleep well. Hallie called and uh…" he paused and looked at Dawson, "oh never mind."

"Matt! Talk to me!"

"It's nothing, just stupid!" He retorted. He got up and huffed back to the station.

"MEN!" Dawson sighed and made her way back to the station.

As they both entered the tones went off, for an apartment fire.

"Truck 81….Squad 3…Ambulance 61, respond 845 West Monroe, apartment fire…"

"Great just what I wanted to start the shift." Casey said climbing into his seat in the truck.

Arriving on the scene of the fire, Casey looked up and saw the top floor on fire with smoke and flames visible.

"Holy shit!" Casey's gaze broke free from the building at Hermann's comment"

"Alright guys you know your jobs," Matt grabbed his gear and masked up to go inside for search and rescue. Mills and Hadley made their way up top to vent the roof, but when they got up there they soon realized that venting on the roof was a no go, the roof was spongy and very unstable.

"Vents a no go…" Hadley reported.

"Copy that come back down and regroup," Chief Boden replied.

Hermann and Otis were pulling a line when Mills and Hadley came down and they grouped with them to do an interior attack. Meanwhile, Severide and Casey were inside doing search and rescue. Severide had civilian in his arms and at the window passing them off to the firefighter on the ladder when a creaking was heard.

"Kelly…?" Casey's voice faded when the radio cracked to life.

"Mayday…Mayday…Mayday…everyone evacuate…" Chief Boden's voice concerned yet firm all his men made it out, alive.

"Casey, go…!" Kelly yelled as he ran to Matt to pull him out the window, but Severide couldn't reach him in time and they both fell.


	2. Chapter 2

Drip…Drip drip…drip. Darkness is all he could see. Water dripping is all he could hear. And smoke is all he could smell. Smoke?! He wrestled with the thought of waking up and trying to figure out a way out of wherever they were. Wait, Kelly? Where is Severide? He attempted to move and pain shot clear up his back and neck. His shoulder and arm hurt too.

"Severide?" He attempted to yell, but it only came out in a whisper. Damn! "Severide, call out!"

He waited for some kind of response. Nothing came except for a creak and shift in the building above. Matt Casey realized what had happened at that point. He remembered him and Severide were on the 4th floor of the apartment complex evacuating civilians. Visions of Severide yelling at him to hurry on getting the last civilian out when they heard the call for the "mayday" from Chief Boden. The last thing he could remember was looking at Severide and falling. He winced as another pain shot through him and darkness overtook him once again…

"Chief!" Hadley ran up to a very concerned looking Boden, "what is the plan?"

"We bring out men home…alive. Now lets go!" Boden said turning his attention back to what used to be the building before him.

"Casey? Severide? Do you copy?" Boden tried over and over again to no avail or response from the two men still inside.

In the meantime, the crews from Truck 81 and Squad 3 put together a plan to get their lieutenants out. Shay and Dawson were on standby.

Cough…cough, gag. Matt Casey winced again as he regained consciousness and realized it was getting harder and harder to breathe. He needed to find out what was keeping him from moving and see if he could see Kelly anywhere. Reaching up to see if his light was on his jacket he fumbled with it and finally was able to get it to come to life. Casey sighed thankful it still worked despite their fall. He looked himself over and found that there was two large beams across his body, one on his legs and one across his abdomen and chest, "_no wonder its so hard to move and breathe."_ Matt sighed. He shook his head realizing he needed to find his fellow lieutenant. He moved his head and say a gloved hand under a beam and other rubble.'

"Kelly? Severide? Wake up man." Casey attempted to yell again only to throw himself into another coughing fit.

"Matt? Calm down! Its ok! Where are we?" Severide comforted his comrade.

"Oh thank god Severide! I think we are now in the basement of the apartment building, we….uh…took a tumble…" Matt's voice trailed off.

"You hurt Matt?" Kelly prayed he wasn't.

"I…uh…I'm kinda stuck, hurts to breathe…" is all Casey told Severide, "you?"

A moan came from Kelly as he shifted, "my arm is stuck but I think I can pull it out. Other than that, my back hurts. That's about it!"

"Don't hurt yourself," Casey winced again as he drew in a breath and his head screamed at him. Casey opened his eyes and saw black spots dancing in front of him. He shook his head trying to rid it of the fuzzy feeling when Severide's face came into view.

"Matt? Stay with me man, stay with me." Kelly reached up to Matt and took a pulse, "_fast and rapid. Shit! This is not good!_"

Casey tried to focus on Severide's soot covered face but everytime he blinked it got darker and darker.

"Matt…stay…with…me…"were the last words Matt Casey could make out before the pain became to much to bear.


	3. Chapter 3

It seemed like hours to Chief Boden to hear a progress report on the rescue of Matt Casey and Kelly Severide, "I need a status report!"

"We are still trying to stabilize the building from further collapse," Hermann replied .

Boden sighed and continued to pray for his fallen lieutenants. "Chief, do we have any updates? Have you heard from Kelly or Matt?" Shay and Dawson were next to him with worried looks are their faces.

"No nothing yet."

Both girls turned away comforting eachother. "I hope they are ok." Dawson said with tears starting to form in her brown eyes.

"Both of them are tough Gabby," Shay said, hoping they were.

Kelly Severide shivered as he watched Casey fall back into unconsciousness. We franticly went to feel for a pulse, relieved to find one. "Matt? Come buddy don't give up on me now!" Kelly tried shaking his friend awake. All he got was a groan and low moan from him. He sat back down up against the beam that he was once trapped under.

Severide lost track of time when he heard another low groan from Matt. He jumped and made his way over to him, "Matt? Hey, welcome back sleeping beauty. You need to stay awake now. Its kinda creepy down here."

"I will try, not making any…" Casey couldn't finish his sentence as he went into a coughing fit. Kelly stared at him as he noticed a dark tinge coming from Matt's mouth. Matt subsided his coughing and looked into Kelly's green eyes. "I guess I am pretty bad off."

"Don't say that! You are going to be fine! I promise I will get you outta here!"

"Yea! Promises! Don't say anything you can't keep!" Matt sighed and closed his eyes as nausea and pain shot through his body.

Kelly stared at him in terror. "HELP! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! DOWN HERE!" Kelly yelled in hopes someone would hear him on the outside.

"Hey Severide? Do me a favor will ya?" Matt Casey took a breath and continued, "when we get outta here tell Dawson that I am sorry for seeing past her all those times. Tell my crew…"pausing to take a breath and being thrown into a coughing fit as more blood came from the corner of his mouth.

"Oh Matt. Don't talk save your energy." Severide comforted, checking his pulse.

"No! I gotta say this…tell the guys thanks for being there for me when I needed a swift kick in the ass, " he laughed and grimaced as the pain got worse.

"You are gonna tell them yourself, I promise," Severide said staring at the blue eyed firefighter.

"Chief! We heard one of the guys calling on the southwest side of the building. We are gonna start there and see where to go from there. They are alive Chieft!" Hadley said very excitedly!

"Let's go!" Boden replied following Hadley and the rest of Station 51 to the spot where the noise was heard.

"KELLY? MATT? CALL OUT IF YOU ARE DOWN THERE!" Otis called.

" OTIS? GUYS? DOWN HERE! HURRY!" Severide called just as Casey went into another coughing fit. "Matt! They are coming for us! Hang on."


	4. Chapter 4

"Quiet! Everyone quiet! KELLY?" Boden rumbled, hoping it was Kelly's voice that he had just heard,

"CHIEF! DOWN HERE! AND HURRY CASEY IS PINNED PRETTY BAD!"

"WE ARE ON IT! JUST HOLD ON!" Chief Boden yelled back with a smile and only had to look at his men and they knew what they had to do.

"Alright Matt, we will be outta here in no time and you will be eating caviar with Hallie tonight," Severide smiled, but it quickly faded when he noticed Matt staring at him with a frown on his face.

"Hallie and I…" Casey's gaze left Severide's, " we aren't together anymore. She can't stand the fact that I am me." Casey barely finished before gasping for air.

"Oh Matt. I am so sorry I didn't know, otherwise.."

"Don't be sorry Severide, its life…" Casey winced as a pain shot through his neck.

Kelly at this point was beginning to become more worried for his partner as he saw the pain across his face. He could still see blood seeping from his mouth, indicating a possible punctured lung. Matt took several deep breaths before looking at Kelly again, "promise me you will take care of the guys and Dawson for me?"

"Matt…" Severide winced at the thought of losing his best friend.

"Promise me!" Casey nearly yelled at Kelly.

"Ok, ok…I promise!" He rolled his eyes knowing it was just to get Matt to shut up and save his energy.

Kelly shifted to cover Matt up when he heard more creaking above. Hoping it wasn't another collapse he prepared for the worse. But when nothing happened he lifted his head and saw light. He looked up and say a hole big enough to send equipment through. The light was immediately covered by a face, "hey Severide? Casey? You guys down there?" Hermann asked.

"Hey Hermann! Thank god! I need oxygen! NOW!" Was Kelly's first request.

Hermann disappeared to retrieve the requested item. Running all the way back to the ambulance he skidded to a halt and panting asked for the oxygen bag.

"You found them? Where are they? Are they alive? Hurt?" Shay shot off questions.

"Yes, southwest side, yes and unknown. Now can I have the oxygen? Please?" Hermann smiled and once he had the oxygen in hand he took off in the other direction.

Shay and Dawson knew to stay back, but the anticipation was killing them so they grabbed some gear and took off in the same direction as Hermann had went. Stopping just behind the chief, Shay and Dawson feared the worst that one of them was dead.

"Kelly? What's the situation in there?" Boden asked into the hole.

"Matt is stuck under two beams, one across his legs and the other across his torso. There is no way I can move any of them without help. He's also bleeding from the mouth. Chief he's in pretty bad shape." Kelly finished as he looked back at Matt.

"And you?"

"I'm fine. My arm was pinned under a beam but I managed to get it out."

l


	5. Chapter 5

Looking back at Matt, he found the blond hair lieutenant to be either asleep or unconscious again and that made Kelly move over to him once again to make sure he was still alive, a slow, rapid pulse was felt under Severide's fingers. Kelly relaxed and his anxiety level lessened but he was still alert that his condition could change at any minute.

"How's it looking down there Hermann?" Boden asked.

"Its gonna take some time, but we will get them out Chief," Hermann said confident that he and the rest of the men could get their lieutenants out.

About 20 later more creaking was heard that brought Casey back to reality. "What's going on? Did they find us?"

"Yea buddy, they found us. They are working getting us out." Severide sighed and smiled that his friend came too.

"Kelly? I'm not feeling to good. My head is killing me," Matt grimaced as pain rolled through his body.

"Casey, hey relax breathe. I know it hurts but we will be outta here soon," Kelly grew panicked. "HEY GUYS! GET ME DAWSON OR SHAY! NOW!"

Within minutes Shay peered down the hole, "Severide? Everything ok?"

"No, Matt's in pain and I think he has a punctured lung. He keeps slipping in and out of consciousness, what can I do to help him?" Shay could tell Kelly was panicked.

"Ummm…ok…I am going to send down some IV supplies, and BP cuff. Take his blood pressure and start and IV, if his BP is good then we can give him some pain meds," Shay explained as Dawson ran back to the rig to grab the needed supplies.

"Ok!" Kelly looked back at Matt as he went into another coughing fit, but instead of just trickle of blood, he spewed blood in the non-rebreather mask on his face. Kelly knew the situation was going from bad to worse.

"Here are the supplies Severide," Shay knelt down and handed the IV supplies and BP cuff down the hole. She waited until Severide hollered at her.

" Hey Shay! BP 200/172!" Kelly voice was shaky relaying the message.

"Oh my god! Do not give him pain meds. He needs fluid," she turned back to the guys up top, " how long before we get them out of there?"

" 20 mintues…" Hadley's voice was heard.

"Casey doesn't have 20 minutes, he's lucky if he has 5," she stared at the long faces of Station 51.

Without word everyone went back to work, Shay looked back down and told Severide to keep Casey awake no matter. She knew if he fell back into darkness, then he may not ever wake up again. Kelly turned back to Matt and shook him to get him to stay awake.

"Matt? Hey Matt? Talk to me! Tell me about your plans for your next carpentry job?" Kelly asked.

"Job? Oh yeah…kitchen…" Casey's voice low and almost in audible. His eyes drifting closed again.

"NO! NO! MATT CASEY YOU WILL NOT DIE ON ME! NOT TODAY!" Kelly's eyes teared over and began to fall, one tear landing on Matt's hand.

"Hey, hey, why you crying Kelly? There's nothing to…" Matt awake went into another coughing fit.

Kelly didn't respond just stared at his fallen, trapped friend.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hermann, Hadley how much longer?" Boden boomed.

"We are almost ready to peel back the roof so we can cut the beams away from Lieutenant Casey, 5 more minutes." Hadley reported immediately going back to work.

Shay heard the conversation and immediately reported to Severide.

"I don't know Shay, he's getting worse. Better hurry." Severide said not looking at the blonde paramedic. He focused on Matt Casey's banged up form.

Matt's breathing labored and was now breathing very slow and shallow and he was sweating so bad that the mask was just slipping off his face. Kelly could see tears coming from his eyes. He knew his fellow lieutenant was hurting and he wished he could do more to help him without hurting him further.

"_Hang on buddy…." _ He prayed.

Casey's eyes darted across the dimly lit room and found Kelly staring at him. He tried to speak but found his shallow breathing was stopping him from saying even one word.

"Don't try Matt, save your energy. We are almost out of here." Kelly said just as Boden peaked in the hole and told Kelly to cover Matt with his body, that they were going to pull back the roof so they had better access to cut the beams away from Matt. Kelly did as the chief said.

Within minutes Kelly was staring at Hermann who dropped down in the hole with the chainsaw ready to release Casey's body of the beams.

"Matt, we are ready to get you outta here. You ready?" Hermann looked at his lieutenant.

Matt's weak body gave a shake and Hermann began, starting with the beam across Matt's legs. Once that was out of the way he immediately began on the chest beam. After cutting away a large piece off the last beam, the guys moved it out of the way but it only revealed what everyone feared the most. Matt Casey had an evisceration to is abdomen.

"Oh my god! SHAY! DAWSON! You need to be ready top side," Hermann yelled.

"Ke..ll.y…it…hur…ts…" Matt gasped out before closing his eyes.

"Casey! Come stay awake man!" Severide shook Matt awake.

"Hermann, on three we lift him up. Ok?" Kelly looked at him, " one…two…three!" Hermann and Severide lifted Matt up and handed him off to Boden and Otis, where they transferred him to Shay and Dawson. Once on the cot, Dawson looked down and saw that Matt was in bad shape.

"Let's go, do everything in route, Severide you ride in as well," Shay yelled running with the cot to the ambulance.

They got the cot in the ambulance and Shay, Dawson and Severide jumped in the back, with Otis driving.

"Shay? Get the EKG on him and get me a blood pressure Kelly," Dawson asked as she listened for breath sounds, "wait! Oh my god! I need to intubate, he's not breathing!"

"Dawson I can't find a pulse." Kelly said with eyes the size of golf balls.

"Start CPR and get the AED pads on him," she finished as she started ventilations with the BVM. "Otis you need to step on it!"


	7. Chapter 7

Looking at the departing ambulance Boden and the rest of the men prayed that Matt and Kelly would be alright. Without words they began to pick up their tools and equipment and put it back on the respected trucks, so they could head to Lakeshore Hospital and meet up with Shay, Dawson and their two lieutenants. As they started to get into the trucks Boden stopped them, " they are both strong! We will not lose any of them, we can't afford to. See you at Lakeshore."

As ambulance 61 pulled into Lakeshore, Matt Casey's pulse had not returned and Dawson was doing compressions, while Shay was giving breaths. Severide looking dazed and confused at this point from the days events, slowly followed the cot into the emergency room. Shay was relaying information to the doctors and nurses.

Kelly stopped in front of the room that they had taken Casey into and without thinking he began to cry. He forgot that Otis was there until Otis wrapped his arm around him and held him close. Otis thought Kelly was just exhausted from the days events until Kelly fell deeper to the floor and started convulsing.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! I NEED HELP!" Otis yelled for someone in the busy emergency room. A doctor and nurse rounded the corner to see Severide thrashing about on the floor.

"What happened?" Asked a doctor.

"He was involved in the building collapse, didn't think he had hurt himself, but then he just started convulsing like this," Otis explained in one breath.

"TRAUMA 3!" Yelled one of the charge nurses as they lifted Kelly onto a bed and whisked him away.

Otis rubbed his eyes and looked up to see Shay and Dawson come out of the room Matt was in, "where's Kelly?" Shay asked.

"Trauma 3, he started convulsing as soon as we got here," Otis sighed and looked at his boots.

"Is he alright?" Dawson piped up.

Otis just shrugged. They walked towards the waiting room only to encounter Chief Boden and the rest of Station 51, "how are they?"

Shay spoke first, " We lost Matt's pulse enroute, they just got him back and are taking him to surgery, don't know much more than that. Kelly started convulsing when we got here. Sounds like he was trying to play hero and forgot to take care of himself down there."

It was a minute before anyone spoke, "we will wait here until we have some news on both of them. After that we all go home for some much needed rest, food and a nice hot shower. That is an order and there will be no debate. Do I make myself clear?" Boden looked at the weary eyes in the room.

All the men shook their heads in response and went to the very uncomfortable chairs and settled in until someone came with news. Everyone looked either out the window, down the hall or at their boots, they never once gazed upon each other to determine what each member was thinking. But each one of them prayed for the lieutenants.

"Let's get him to CT-SCAN…I don't think its anything major but better be safe than sorry," the doctor told the nurse. As he looked down and saw that Lieutenant Kell Severide was awake, "ahh, welcome back Mr. Severide. How are you feeling?"

Kelly smacked his lips and tried to focus on the doctor, " like I've been hit by a building. How's Matt?"

"Matt? Oh the other firefighter, I'm sorry, he's still in surgery. And I see you remember what happened to you. That's good news. We are sending you to CT-SCAN and then moving to a room upstairs, keeping you observation. I will be by to check on you after the scan and give you the results."

"Thanks, oh doc? My team? Are they here?" Kelly inquired.

"I believe they are in the waiting room. They can see you after your scan," the doctor said as he left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

After his CT-SCAN Kelly Severide was anxious to see if there was any news on his fellow lieutenant. The nurses got him settled in his room and as soon as they left in walked the crews from Station 51. All with smiles on their faces knowing one of their lieutenants was safe for the moment.

"Hey Kelly, how are you feeling?" Boden asked with a concerned look on his face.

"I've been better chief. Thanks. How's Matt doing? They won't tell me anything," Severide asked.

"I don't know, they haven't told us anything yet. All we know is he is still in surgery," Boden's voice trailed.

Kelly scanned the room making eye contact with everyone and coming to rest upon Dawson, "he wanted me to tell you all thank you for being there for him. It truly means a lot to him."

They all smiled and gave Severide a hug or a pat on his shoulder so they could leave him to rest, promising to let him know of any updates on Matt.

Kelly dozed off into a slumber, until he heard an alarm going off, "Mr. Severide, you need to breathe…breathe…" He woke to find a nurse trying to coach him on breathing.

"Lt. Hi, I'm Dr. Wright, I'm a neuro surgeon here at Lakeshore. I have the results of your CT-SCAN," Dr. Wright introduced himself.

"What? Neuro surgeon? What for?" Severide was baffled.

"Your scan showed a small bleed in your brain. Probably from when you fell, your helmet came off and you hit your head pretty hard. We are going to let you rest and re scan in the morning to see if we need to take care of it in surgery or not. Rest well." The doctor turned and exited the room.

Severide's head fell back against the pillow and his eyes closed as he tried to take in what the doctor had just told him. He was brought back to reality when Shay walked in. "Hey! Any news?"

Shay just shook her head and sat down next to Kelly's bed and grabbed his hand and started to cry. Shay was a naturally strong person, but with the events of today she broke down.

"Matt Casey?" A doctor called walking out still in scrubs.

The crew of Station 51 stood up and prepared for the worst, "Mr. Casey made it through surgery, well this one at least. He's not out of the woods and will be placed in the critical care unit for at least 1 week, maybe longer." He paused and looked around.

"Doctor? Can you tell me what is wrong with him, "Boden was the first to speak up.

Taking a deep breath the doctor continued, " Mr. Casey ended up with a broken femur on his right side, several broken ribs, broken clavicle and shoulder blade. He also had a punctured lung, a severe bleed in his brain and the evisceration to the abdomen left a lacerated liver, which we were able to repair."

"So what is his prognosis?" Dawson quietly asked.

"Right now, I can't tell you that. The next 48 hours are critical. He's being moved CCU and will remain in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator." He smiled and left in the same direction he came.

Boden turned and saw puzzled looks on his men's face, "at least he his alive. And Kelly is alive. Now all we can do is pray. I will go let Shay and Severide know the news. When I get back all of you better be gone. Go home, hug your loved ones and be thankful you have them."

Boden left to break the news to his others.


	9. Chapter 9

Before walking into Severide's room, Chief Boden stopped outside the door and leaned against the wall. He rubbed his eyes and temples, wanting to break down and cry. But he knew that he needed to tell Kelly and Shay, Matt's condition and then he could break down. He needed to be strong. He took a deep breath and walked in. Entering the room his eyes settled on a sleeping Severide, Shay awake and staring out the window. He walked further in and Shay was surprised and jumped at the chief's arrival. In turn Kelly awoke with a start, breathing heavily.

"Just heard on Casey…"Boden's voice trailed as he found himself looking out the window.

"Chief? How bad?" Kelly's voice low and frightened.

"He's pretty bad Kelly, I'm not gonna lie. He has several broken bones, punctured lung, brain bleed and lacerated liver. He's in CCU for awhile, on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma." Boden explained looking at the two.

Shay looked at Kelly and again started to cry. Kelly grabbed her hand and held it tight. "Thanks chief. I uh had a CT-Scan earlier. They uh…they…"Kelly's voice stopped.

"They what Kelly? Spit it out!" Boden very concerned, almost yelled.

"I have a small bleed. They are keeping me over night to observe and re scan in the morning," Severide glanced down and rustled in his sheets.

"Kelly, you rest. That's an order. I will see you later. Shay, head home and get some rest," Boden turned to leave.

But Boden decided he wasn't leaving, he was going to see Lt. Casey before, just to make his eyes believe that he was truly alive. He walked to the desk at CCU and asked the nurse there to see Matt Casey. She looked up and smiled and wrote a room number on a sticky note and handed it to him without question and unlocked the door. Boden nodded his head and headed through the door. Walking down the CCU corridor he scrunched his nose at the smell of bleach, looking at the room numbers he comes to a stop outside room 351, Matt Casey, written on the door. He pushed the door open to reveal the scene behind it.

His jaw dropped, Matt Casey was unrecognizable under the tubes, wires, bandages, and casts. He barely could make out some of the blonde hair on the lieutenant's head. "My god, Casey…" he whispered as he moved to be by the battered patient. He pulled the chair next to his bed and sat down and surveyed Matt's body again. He sat back and listened to the ventilator breathing for Matt and soon he was off to sleep.

Boden was woken to voice of a nurse asking him if he was ok.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm good," Boden rubbed his eyes and sighed, looking at the clock on the wall it read 10:18 pm. Last time he looked at the clock it was 1:45 pm. He again looked at Matt Casey and giving his uninjured arm a slight pat and smiling he whispered, "get better Matt. We need you!" With that he got up and left.

He wondered if Shay had done as she was told, so he stopped and peaked in on Kelly and found he was sleeping peacefully with Shay gone. He smiled and turned. Chief Boden was thankful he still had his lieutenants.


	10. Chapter 10

Arriving home from the hospital, Chief Wallace Boden dropped down on the sofa and put his head in his hands and started to cry. He had never broken down like this, not even when Andy Darden died. But on this night he wept for his men.

"Mr. Severide? Mr. Severide? How are you feeling?" A nurse stirred Kelly to alertness.

He squinted his eyes and tried to focus on the face, but it stayed a blurry. He closed his eyes again and quickly opened them, the blurriness kind of gone but still there this time, "I'm, uh…ok…sore, but ok."

"I will get you some pain meds. CT will be down in about 10 minutes for the re scan," she said walking out to retrieve the drug.

Kelly sighed and looked out the window, the sun could be seen over the tall buildings in Chicago. A new day had begun and his mind went immediately to his partner, Matt. He pressed the call button for the nurse, "Mr. Severide, is everything ok? I have your pain medication."

"Matt Casey? He's another firefighter in yesterday's building collapse. Do you know how he is?" Casey asked before wincing because of the pain in his head.

"I am not sure, but I can find out for you. Here is your medication and I will be back, hopefully before you go to your scan," she inserted the needle into the IV port and watched Kelly relax.

Coming back from his scan, Kelly entered his room once again to see that Shay was there waiting for him, "hey stranger! How are you feeling?"

Kelly smiled, "I'm alive!" He shrugged.

"That's good," she smiled and turned her attention to the rising sun.

"Mr. Severide? News on your friend. He's ok, still unconscious, still on the ventilator and in CCU. I'm sorry that's all I know," she smiled as she went about taking is vital signs.

He stared at her and smiled, not saying anything.

Meanwhile in the room of Matt Casey, a neuro surgeon was looking over Matt's CT results from the previous day. He ordered another scan and left at that waiting for those results. Through the night Matt's vital signs stayed stable so there were no worries there. A few minutes after the neuro surgeon left, his orthopedic doctor came through the door to examine his x-rays of his broken body. Smiling at himself and satisfied with everything he left.

" Tori? Matt Casey will be fine as far as the broken bones throughout his body. His femur stabilized wonderfully so no need for surgery. Same with his arm, but I am available if anything happens," the doctor reported. A shake of the head from Casey's nurse, Tori, was the only response.

Chief Boden couldn't sleep anymore so he got up showered and made his way back to hospital. Arriving at Lakeshore, he made his way first to Lt. Severide's room, he peeked and found Shay already there fast asleep in the chair next to Kelly's bed. He smiled glad she looked semi better. Kelly was watching TV, a cheesy soap opera.

"Hey Kelly! You look better! How are you feeling?"

"Oh hey chief! Yea I'm good! Got my results of this morning's CT scan and the bleeds cleared. Probably go home tomorrow!" Kelly very excited of the news.

"That's great news Kelly!" Boden again smiled and patted Kelly on his shoulder. "I'm headed up to see Matt, I will tell him the news!"

Kelly thanked Boden as he left and made his way to the CCU. Again without any problems he was let in to see Matt.

Again before entering his room he stopped took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Relieved to see Matt still there, his color a little better and his vitals stable. He sighed and sat next the bed and grabbed Matt's left arm, careful of the IV and smiled, "Kelly gets to go home tomorrow. He's doing much better. Now you just need to get better. Come on lieutenant, you can do it. Come back to us!"

Boden watching Matt's face the whole time noticed his eyelids twitching, like Matt was trying to wake up. Just then the neuro surgeon walked in and smiled, "I assume you are Lt. Casey's chief, correct?"

Boden nodded.

"Good! I have the results of Casey's scan results from this morning. The bleed has clotted and is not currently bleeding. Which means it is safe to try and get him to wake up," the doctor explained without looking up from his notes, that he didn't notice the grin on Wallace's face.


	11. Chapter 11

_Sorry this is a short chapter. I've been working on another story. I hope you all enjoy and please review!_

Chief Boden stayed in Matt's room for a good part of the day, until he found himself nodding off. Realizing this and the fact that Matt wasn't waking up anytime soon, he decided to head to the cafeteria for some food. Rounding the corner to the CCU waiting room he noticed that Otis, Mills, Hadley and Dawson had congregated sometime that morning. But with CCU rules only allowing one visitor back at a time, they would have to wait.

"Good morning," Boden said with a smile on his face.

"Morning Chief. How is he?" Otis asked.

'He's good. Doc's say he will be fine. They are going to start easing off some of the medications today and hope that he wakes up. He will remain on the ventilator until his lung is fully healed." Boden gazed at his crew.

"That's great news! And Kelly's going home tomorrow! Best day ever!" Hadley exclaimed.

"Well I'm going to go for some food, who would like to join me?" Boden asked.

It didn't take long for Otis, Mills and Hadley to mingle with the chief so Dawson could go see her best friend. She walked through the CCU corridor till coming to a stop outside his room. She quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Gasping at the scene before she turned to leave when something stopped her. She slowly turned back around and went to sit by Matt's side. sighing, "Matt. I don't know if you can hear me, but I got to say this. Um, I am seeing someone and we are happy, I am happy with him. You were one to be there for me and I hope this doesn't change anything between us. I need you to get better for me and for the guys. We are counting on you."

Finishing her sentence she heard the heart monitor increasing and she in an instant became panicked, as she ran out to get a nurse, "his heart rate is increasing."

"Out, please so we can work," the nurse pushed Dawson out of the way and closed the door.

She began to cry, she slowly made her way back to the waiting room, hoping the guys would be back from chow. Entering the room she scanned and saw Hermann had arrived and was mingling with the other guys, "Gabby? What's wrong?" Hermann jumped at the sight of the paramedic.

"I don't know…he uh…his heart rate increased and it scared me," she admitted.

"I will see if they can tell me what's happening," Chief stood and headed in.

"Excuse can you tell me the state of Matt Casey?" He asked no one in particular.

"We are assessing him know. We think he developed an infection in his abdomen. We are running tests now," upon the nurse finishing her sentence she paused when she heard, "CODE BLUE ROOM 351, CCU…CODE BLUE ROOM 351 CCU…" and with that she turned and ran toward the room.


	12. Chapter 12

"WHAT DO WE GOT?" Matt Casey's doctor walked into seeing nurses trying to stabilize the fragile lieutenant.

"His heart stopped, we just got it back, but his temperature is at 105," the nurse reported to the doctor, "I'm getting cooling pads and blankets now."

"I want blood tests, he may have a serious infection in his abdomen and get me another scan just to make sure everything is still okay," the doctor sighed and looked over the notes and vital signs from the last time he saw his patient.

Knowing something was wrong Chief Boden went back to the waiting room and sat down, not saying anything to the crew. A few minutes passed and the doctor came out to meet with everyone to give them an update, "Lt. Casey, is not well. He has a high temperature and a possible infection in the abdomen. We are running tests again to find out what caused his heart to stop. Right now I want no one in his room, it is going to be busy in there and we don't need another body in the way. I will let you know on what the tests show. Thank you for your cooperation."

Dawson, began to cry uncontrollably again at the news. Mills wrapped his arms around and held her close, kissing the top of her head and telling her it was going to be ok, just trying to comfort her.

Boden immediately went to let Severide and Shay know. Upon entering his room, Kelly was sound asleep in his bed and Shay was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and turned to walk away," hey Chief. Everything ok?" Kelly asked sleepily.

"Uh, Matt is worse, Kelly. His heart stopped again and his temperature is high. They are doing tests but they think it's his abdomen that is infected," Boden looking at Kelly waiting for a response.

Severide bowed his head and started to cry, "it's my fault he's there. I should have called to him sooner. I'm so sorry chief," he sobbed tears flowing from his eyes.

"Kelly, you didn't do this. It's part of the job. I blame no one except nature," Boden explained as he took Kelly's hand and soothed him. Within minutes Kelly's sobs quieted and he was asleep once again.

Having enough for today Boden went back to find the others and told them to go home and rest. If I hear any news on either one of them, you all be the first I call." Without waiting for a response he turned and exited in the elevator.

Later on in the evening, Chief Boden's phone rang, "hello?"

"Yes Chief Boden, this is Matt Casey's doctor, We are taking Matt to surgery right now. He has a massive infection in the abdominal cavity. We are hoping he is strong enough for this. Can you make it down here?"

"Uh, yeah I can be there in 15 minutes," Boden said as he scrambled to get dressed.

Skidding into the waiting room, Boden was breathing heavily as he took a seat in the corner of the room. He hoped this was the last surgery Matt would have to endure during his recovery. He glanced at his watch and saw it was already 9:15 pm he decided against letting Kelly know. He nodded off until he was shaken awake, "chief? Chief, hey wake up!" It was the voice of Kelly Severide.

Boden shook his head, "Kelly? What are you doing? You are supposed to be in bed."

"My nurse told me about Casey. I insisted to come up and wait. I knew you would be here," Kelly grinned.

Boden smiled; happy he had someone to keep him company. Around 10:30 a doctor in scrubs came out and asked for the family of Casey. Boden raised his hand and stood up.

"Please sit down," the doctor motioned for Boden to sit back down, as he sat across from him, sadness filled his eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

Ok so I am revising the last chapter of this story. A bunch of you were not happy about the ending so I am redoing it. So I hope you enjoy this part and please review!

The doctor sat down across from Boden and Severide eyeing them both. Taking in a deep breath, he began, " Lt. Casey's condition is a lot worse than we anticipated. But with the surgery we just performed he is stable but critical. We are moving him to CCU and he will remain on a ventilator. We also are treating him for sepsis and pneumonia. So if you visit him, you will have to mask up. I will keep you up to date on his condition, good or bad," the doctor finished and got up.

Boden turned and looked at Kelly who was face looked all but alive. He noticed a single tear fall from his eye, "Kelly, he's alive, I told you he would was tough."

"I know, but it's my fault he is in that bed. I couldn't get to him in time." Kelly turned his face away from his chief.

"No, Kelly, Matt is there in that bed because he did what the job asked of him. Do not feel guilty, Matt would tell you the same thing," Boden paused, "I am going to call the rest of the guys. You need to go get some rest."

Kelly shook his head, "I have to see him." He wheeled himself to the CCU entrance.

Entering Casey's room, Severide was astonished at the sight before him, this is the first time he had seen Matt since they took him away at the fire. Sure he had seen it all, the gore and blood, but nothing prepares someone when it's one of your own. He stopped at the side of Matt's bed and grabbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, "oh god, Matt, I'm so sorry," he whispered as tears began to waterfall down Severide's face.

Meanwhile down the hall Boden was calling the men of 51, telling them that both Kelly and Matt needed their rest and asked not to disturb them until late the next morning. After hanging up with the last member, he made his way to Matt's room and found Kelly sound asleep in his wheelchair, next to his other lieutenant. He smiled and was happy to see that Kelly still cared for Matt. He decided to leave the two be and turned to head home.

Waking with a start, Kelly rubbed his eyes. Seeing the sun rise above the great Chicago skyscrapers, he smiled thankful Matt was with them on a new day. He surveyed Matt's body from head to toe, to see if anything had changed during the night. Noticing that a new bag of antibiotics and fluid had been hung he was startled at a knock at the door. He turned to see a nurse come in," Mr. Severide you should go back to your room now, we need to change Matt's bandages. Come back up in a couple of hours." Kelly didn't have time to protest as is wheelchair started to move towards the open door. Looking up to see Leslie Shay pushing with a grin on her face, "this is the only way to get you out Kelly Severide! You hungry?"

Kelly just smiled, "_damn I'm lucky to have friends like them!"_


	14. Chapter 14

Kelly stood up and winced as the pounding in his head got worse, he was headed home today after spending 7 nights in the hospital. He was happy to be leaving the dreadful place, but he also felt guilty as Matt had to stay here. He sat down in the wheelchair and smiled as Shay pushed his chair, to the elevator, she pushed the down button only to be stopped, "we aren't leaving until I see him."

Shay rolled her eyes and pushed the up button and guided Kelly to his friend's room. She hadn't seen Matt since the incident and knew kinda what expect, but held her breath as they entered. Kelly smiled as Shay moved him to the bedside and immediately he noticed that Matt's color was better than the previous time he had seen him. He looked at the monitors and his vitals seemed stable. At that time a nurse walked in and smiled and moved to take another set of vitals, "how is he?" Kelly asked.

"Much better, he is done with is course of antibiotics and his blood work is back to normal. The doctor is possibly going to take him of the ventilator today," the nurse smiled and continued doing her routine. All Kelly could do was smile.

"Alright tough guy, you ready to go?" Shay asked moving to his side.

"No, I'm staying here until I know what they are going to do. You go, I will call when I'm ready," Kelly insisted looking at Matt.

The only response was of Shay's eyes rolling, she knew better than to argue with her best friend and roommate. "I will call Boden and let him know, call me," she said leaving the CCU room.

An hour later, Matt's doctor came into the room and immediately noticed Kelly sitting there, "hello Mr. Severide. How are we today?"

"I'm doing good, been released," Severide smiled.

"Good! Well, I also have some good news; we are going to remove Matt's tube now. Everything is looking good!" The doctor proceeded to examine Matt.

Kelly smiled knowing that was his cue to leave, "I will have a nurse come get you once we know everything is good with your friend."

Kelly shook his head, "_no more tricks Matthew Casey!_" he smirked as nurse wheeled him to the waiting room.


	15. Chapter 15

It seemed like hours went by before someone came out giving him news about Matt. "Mr. Severide, you can come back in now. He's off the ventilator," a warm smile came across the nurse's wrinkled face. Kelly smiled getting up from the chair he vacated to and walked slowly towards the room. He made his way to the padded hospital chair next to the bed of Matt Casey and sat down.

"Glad to see your doing better Casey, I was worried I'd have to admit," he laughed, " I don't know if you can hear me. You need to get better Matt. We need you, I don't know if I could pick on another lieutenant again. I know I can't lose my best friend again." Kelly finished as he grabbed the ice cold hand of his best friend.

Refusing to leave, even after Shay came back, he wanted to be there in case Matt woke up, which was very unlikely right now but Kelly didn't care. He was staying. Sleeping in the padded chair for hours on end, only to leave the room when the nurses came in to change the bedding, bandages, or to get something to eat. Kelly would diligently watch over his fellow Station 51 lieutenant.

It has been almost 2 weeks since the incident at the apartment building and Kelly was beginning to wonder if the doctor's had missed something, "shouldn't you be awake by now buddy? I mean you can sleep when you're dead. Come on now, time to get a move on!" Kelly would tease Matt. Only to be greeted with silence.

Everything was healing nice with Matt's injuries although his leg and arm still remained in a cast. The doctor was certain he should wake up soon, "now we wait for him to wake up, it's his turn to work now."

Kelly had set up a make shift bed on the floor in between the bed and the wall opposite from the door, to allow the nurses to come in and do their thing at night. On this night Kelly tossed and turned, he couldn't get comfortable. He sat up with his back against the wall and looked at the blank face of Matt Casey. He thought he was dreaming when Kelly saw Matt's eyelids move. Then his arm moved, "Matt? Matt, come on buddy! Open those eyes!" Kelly coached. But this time he got a response, Matt Casey's eyes opened and stared at the green eyes of Kelly Severide. "Hey buddy, let me get a nurse!" He exclaimed as he pushed the button.

"Kelly?!" Matt's voice very dry, was just above a whisper.

"Yeah! Glad you are back with us, you scared us!" Kelly overly excited. Looking up to see a nurse come rushing in, "he's awake!"

"Hello Mr. Casey. Glad to see you finally join us! How are you feeling?" The nurse inquired.

"Mmmm ok…thirsty. Head…hurts," Matt said.

The nurse smiled and did her vital check and left to get the doctor.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hello Mr. Casey, I'm the doctor who's been on your case, Dr. Williams," Dr. Williams introduced himself walking in to take a look at Matt. Matt nodded his head allowed the doctor to examine him, "how are you feeling?"

Matt cleared his throat, "my head hurts and my hip."

"Well that's to be expected, you've been through a lot the last 2 weeks," the doctor said without stopping what he was doing.

"Owwww!" Matt managed to scream out as Dr. Williams poked his hip.

"Sorry," he replied and continued to write things down.

After 20 minutes of the doctor poking and proding at the lieutenant he left leaving Kelly and Matt alone once again. Matt looked at Kelly, "did he say 2 weeks?"

Kelly nodded his head yes and chuckled, "do you remember what happened?"

Matt paused and stared at the blank wall ahead of him, "the building collapsed. But damn 2 weeks!?"

Kelly just chuckled and let his mind wonder. "Yea 2 weeks. You ended up with a broken femur on your right side, several broken ribs, broken clavicle and shoulder blade. You also had a punctured lung, a severe bleed in your brain and the evisceration to the abdomen left a lacerated liver. You were pretty messed up."

"Yea, thanks. Is everyone else ok? Are you ok?"

"Everyone else is fine. I spent a few night here, then got to go home, but came back. Hospitals are creepy and I didn't feel right leaving you here alone," Kelly smirked looking at Matt, "why don't you rest. I'm gonna call the guys and let them know you've come back from the dead!"

Lt. Casey smiled, "tell them not to rush down here. I am whipped and I have a feeling I'm gonna crash again."

Kelly nodded his head and slipped out of the room to make the necessary phone calls.

"Hello? Kelly, is everything ok?" Boden's voice boomed.

"Hey chief. Oh yeah, it's Matt. He's awake!" Kelly's eyes showed signs of tears falling. But with the sun of Chicago they dried before reaching the floor. Lt. Kelly Severide was happy his best friend was alive.


	17. Chapter 17

On the other side of the phone Boden had a smile from ear to ear. He couldn't believe what he had just heard from Kelly Severide. It had been a long two weeks and finally Matt Casey was awake. Miracles do happen, "chief? Chief you there?" Severide questioned.

"I'm here Kelly. That's great news! Is he doing all right?" Boden asked.

"He's a little sore, groggy, but other than that he's not too bad," Kelly responded gripping the phone.

"That's great! Have you called the others yet?"

"I was hoping you could help me with that, I kinda want to go home and sleep. Now that he's awake I don't think I need to be here all the time," Kelly confessed.

"Not a problem Kelly, go home and rest. I will call the others, but advise them not to rush down. Matt needs his rest too." Boden assured Kelly.

Saying their goodbyes and hanging up their phones Kelly went back to Matt's room and found the blue eyed lieutenant fast asleep. He took this opportunity to grab his jacket and car keys and head out the door towards home. While he was leaving through the lobby, Dawson walked through the doors.

"Gabby? Hey how are you?" Kelly was very shocked to see her.

"Oh hey! Yeah, I'm good, how's Casey?" She inquired.

"He's good. He…uh…woke up this morning. I was just heading home to get some sleep and a hot shower," Kelly hinted that now probably wasn't the best time to see him.

"Oh, well I will just drop off this card and be on my way," Dawson smiled and left towards the elevator.

Kelly just smiled and turned in the opposite direction.

Arriving in Matt's room, Dawson gasped. She was relieved to see most of the tubes and wires gone. But it was still Matt Casey, her co-worker and best friend. She smiled as she saw his eyes were closed. She quietly walked in and set the card down and was about to walk out the door when she heard a voice whisper, "Gabby?"

She cringed and slowly turned to see the blue eyes of her friend, "hey. How are you feeling Matt?"

She made her way to the chair and sat down. Matt smiled at her and smacked his lips together as he reached for the ice chips on the table, "mmm good. Sore." He winced as he tried to adjust.

"That's good. We were all worried about you. Especially Severide. We could hardly get him away from you."

"Dawson? Look, I'm sorry for everything," he paused and looked into her brown eyes, " I wanna be with you, Gabriella Dawson."

"Matt…I …uh… I'm sorry, but that's not possible," she looked back at him and waited.

"What do you mean Gabby? I want to be with you," he pleaded.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing and her eyes tierd up and she looked back at the lieutenant, "I am involved with someone and we are serious. I tried to tell you the day of the accident, but you got mad and walked off," she stood up and was about ready to walk out when Matt grabbed her hand.

"Gabby…I was upset, I didn't mean too…"Matt's words trailed off as Gabby gently pulled her hand away and wiped away a stranded tear. She whispered, "I'm sorry," and left.

Matt hung his head and cried only to look down and see one of Gabriella Dawson's tears on his hand. He watched it dry and closed his eyes and let the tears free fall.


	18. Chapter 18

Dawson ran out to her car and got in and bawled like a baby. She didn't want to break his heart, but she needed to say something to Matt before things got outta hand. Now only if he would forgive her.

Matt sat by himself crying at the thought of not being with Dawson anymore. He couldn't shake the feeling that the love of his life was seeing someone else. He was so stupid to see past Dawson and her antics and just went out with her instead of trying to get Hallie to see about a family. He must've cried himself to sleep because he woke with a start at someone walking in. Forcing his eyes open he made out a person sitting in the chair to his left. "Hey, Casey. How are you feeling?" Boden asked.

"Oh hey chief. I've been better," Matt sad very sleepy.

Boden smiled and shifted in his chair, "glad to see you are awake. We've been worried. But glad you are ok, so to speak."

Matt smiled and tried to adjust only to send a shock of pain through his hip, "DAMN!" He cried as a nurse came in as the heart monitor went ballistic.

"Mr. Casey, are you ok?" She asked.

"Just…hurts…"he breathed out sinking back into his bed.

She moved to insert a needle into his IV port and watched the wrinkles on Matt's face relax. She smiled and left the two alone.

"Sorry about that," Matt whispered not opening his eyes.

"Not to worry Matt," Boden comforted, "why don't you rest. Don't mind me!"

"Sleep? That's all I've been doing!" Matt insisted as his eyes drifted close and let the pain medication work.

"Hey chief, how is he?" Kelly inquired as he walked through the door.

"He's good! Been sleeping most of the day. He woke for a little while, I noticed his eyes were bloodshot, like he had been crying," Boden took a breath, "the doctor came in not too long ago and they are moving him to the orthopedic floor in the morning. He's gonna start rehab on that hip and arm."

Kelly nodded his head, "this is going to be the rough road ahead of him."

Boden nodded in agreement, "well I think I will take off, let you keep him in line." He stood up and patted Kelly on the shoulder and left.

Sitting down, Kelly purposefully squealed the chair across the floor, just to see his friend's eyes open. Kelly smiled," hey bud! How are you?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders. He noticed Kelly looking at his face more than usually. Matt quickly looked in the opposite direction, noticing a grunt come from Kelly. "Can I help you?"

"You've been crying. What's up?" Severide pushed.

"Nothing, just don't worry about it," Matt tried to brush it off.

"You know I will get it out of you sooner or later right?" Kelly smiled.

"Whatever, right now it's not a concern."

Kelly didn't say any more about him crying, "so I heard you are going to the ortho floor tomorrow. Get some rehab on that arm and leg."

"I am? They must've told Boden. I've been sleeping all day!" Matt kinda smiled as he fumbled with the sheet and blanket.

Kelly nodded his head, "did Dawson show up?"

Matt's head shot up and looked into Kelly's eyes and started to cry again.


	19. Chapter 19

Kelly Severide didn't know whether to go to Matt's beside or not. He stayed by the window sill and waited for a Matt to calm his crying. When it didn't subside, Kelly moved to the chair and sat down and grabbed Casey's hand and held it, letting Casey know he was there for him. Matt eased his sobbing up when he knew that his best friend was there for him.

"She's seeing someone else. She doesn't love me, after all the times she wanted to be with me. She lied to me," Casey looked into the eyes of Lt. Severide.

"Is that what she wanted to tell you? I ran into her down in the lobby as I was leaving this morning. I tried to tell her not to disturb you. This is my entire fault, I'm sorry buddy," Kelly leaned back in his chair.

"It's not your fault, Severide. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I just can't believe she couldn't tell me sooner, ya know, had to do it now, while I am here," Matt winced.

Kelly frowned, he felt for his friend and hated to see Matt in this state, "do you want me to talk to her?"

"What? No, it'll only make matters worse. I will when the time is right," Matt smiled and relaxed back into the uncomfortable bed.

Kelly stayed for a few more hours and noticed that Matt was nodding off and his words not making any more sense, so Kelly bided good night to Matt and left him to get some sleep. Getting into his car, Kelly sighed, knowing he shouldn't go to Dawson to find out what was up with everything, but he had to find out for his friend. Arriving outside Dawson's apartment, he put his car in park. He got out and walked the pathway to the front door and rang the bell. Within minutes Dawson opened the door, surprised to see Severide standing on her door stop.

"Um, hi Kelly. What brings you by at 10:30 at night? Is everything ok with Matt?" Dawson asked confused.

"Um, no Matt is very upset. I wanna know why?" Kelly asked firmly.

Dawson bit her bottom lip, shifted her weight, "Kel…I just went to say hi, and it came out. I didn't mean to upset him, he needed to know."

"Dawson, but why now? He has enough on his plate, and that just added to it," Kelly was getting very angry.

Dawson at this point was getting upset, "I didn't mean for it to come out now. It just happened."

"Who is it Dawson?" Kelly curiously asked.

She bowed her head and bit her lip again, "someone….Mills."

"Peter Mills? Candidate?" Kelly was shocked, "stay away from Matt. He needs all the strength he needs to get through this." With that he turned and walked off, leaving Dawson mouth wide open.

Kelly got into his car and peeled out away from Dawson's home, arriving home he opened his door and slammed it and threw his keys on the table. Shay jumped up from the couch, "hey, everything ok?"

"No! Your partner is not to go see Matt!" He yelled, realizing he was and apologized.

"Why Kelly? What happened?"

"She's seeing someone, Peter Mills to top it off," Kelly at his point, was pacing the living room.

Shay's mouth dropped open, "oh my god! Dawson and Mills? I though she liked Casey?"

"Yeah so did Casey. He's a wreck. I told her not to go near him," Kelly looked at Shay, hurting for his friend.

"Kelly, it will take time for both of them," Shay sat back down and motioned for Kelly to sit down. He smiled and sat down, exhausted after the day.


	20. Chapter 20

If Matt Casey could've tossed and turned he would have that night, he would have. After the day's events with Dawson it drove him to the point past exhaustion. He cried most of the day and was angry with himself that he hadn't seen the signs sooner. He thought about calling Dawson and talking to her and apologize but then he would reconsider and begin to cry again. He looked at the clock and it was 11:00 pm and he picked up the phone and dialed Kelly's number.

"_Hello?"_ A sleepy voice answered.

"Kelly? Oh sorry did I wake you? I can call back, I just…" Matt rambled into the receiver.

"_Needed someone to talk to? It's alright Matt, what's up?"_ Kelly sat up and rubbed his eyes peering at the clock.

"It's Dawson; I can't get her outta my head. Why did I have to be so stupid?"

"_Matt give her time. You both are hurt right now; time is all both of you need. I told her to stay away for now, so you can heal and feel better," _Severide yawned. He waited for a reply, and when none came, _"Matt? Casey? Sleep well, sleeping beauty!"_ He smiled to himself, knowing Matt had worried himself to sleep. He hung up his phone and went upstairs to sleep off the night.

Kelly thought he was dreaming when he heard a ringing noise, turning onto his back he fumbled to find his cell phone, "hello?"

"_Kelly? Why did you hang up on me last night?"_ Casey was obviously shaken.

"Matt, you fell asleep, so I hung up. You worried yourself to sleep!" Kelly chuckled.

"_Oh, well that makes sense, I guess! You coming by today? I have physical therapy at 11 today, kinda would like you here to help push me," _Matt begged.

"Yea, sure, let me get ready and I will be there. Can I bring you anything?" Kelly asked getting out of bed.

"_Now that you mentioned it! I would love a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake!"_ Matt replied.

"I don't think you can have that superstar! Nice try! See ya in a bit!" Kelly hung up his phone rubbed his eyes and got up to get dressed.

He walked into Matt's room about 45 minutes after they talked on the phone. He was sitting up and eating some kind of food that didn't look or smell very appetizing, "man if I knew you were eating this crap!"

"Thanks Kelly! Want some?" Matt smiled and pushed the food tray away.

Kelly shook his head and walked to the chair, "how are you this morning?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders, "mmm, okay."

Kelly smiled just as a physical therapist came in with a wheel chair, "good morning Mr. Casey, ready for therapy?"

"You can call me Matt, this is Kelly Severide…I suppose I am," Matt moved the table and blanket out of the way. When he moved the blanket he bared his hip, now free of the cast. Kelly noticed a large incision from the top of his hip all the way to the knee cap.

Matt winced as they moved his leg, down. For the first time in 2 ½ weeks, Matt Casey was sitting on the edge of the bed. Kelly noticed he had become very pale and looked as if he was either going to pass out or throw up. He moved to grab the basin, in case he began to hurl. Matt sat there for a few moments and his color returned, Kelly relaxed.

"Okay Matt, we are going to help you to the wheel chair, let us know when you are ready," the young therapist said.

Matt licked his lips and took in a deep breath and nodded his head, indicating that he was ready. Ready for the biggest moment since the accident.


	21. Chapter 21

Matt almost backed out of stepping onto his hip for the first time in weeks. But he needed to show Kelly that he wasn't a wimp or coward. He gritted his teeth and eased onto the cold hospital floor. Drawing in a sharp breath and whimper he closed his eyes, the pain was unbearable and he could feel himself falling. He flinched as two hands caught him and helped ease him into the waiting wheelchair a few inches away. He opened his eyes and noticed that Kelly was closer than he remembered, "_Must've been him that caught me."_

Matt nodded weakly and licked his lips, "water…please…" He panted.

Kelly handed him the cup on the bedside table. He shoved his hands back in his pockets and followed the wheelchair down the hall to the therapy room. He found a chair not too far from where they took Matt and slid down into it. He watched as they took a tool and had Matt bend and straighten his leg and the pain that came across his face as they did this, "_poor guy."_ He wanted to help and do more for his friend, but knew just being there for him was what Matt needed.

Only 20 minutes went by and Kelly was waved over, "here are some exercises for him to start working on, if you could encourage him to do them, it will help in his healing process."

Kelly smiled and took that paper and moved to sit in front of Matt, who looked like he was asleep," hey bud! Let's not sleep until you are back in bed, I don't feel like lifting you twice in one day."

Matt opened his eyes, and they were watery, like he wanted to cry. He slightly smiled and closed his eyes again, "pain," he whispered. Kelly patted his good leg and the therapist steered the wheelchair back to Matt's room. Kelly and two of the therapists eased Matt into bed and got him settled, almost immediately the nurse came in and gave him some pain medication. Within minutes Mat relaxed, pain almost etched off his face and he started to lightly snore. Kelly again smiled and wrote a note saying he would be back later. He turned and left.

Matt squinted his eyes as he heard someone enter his now dark room, "hello?" He croaked. He waited for his eyes to adjust and then decided to find the button for the lights. With the room now dimly lit, he looked over and saw that Severide was back and he had something with him, and damn it smelled good!

"Hey! What'd you bring me?" He smiled and moved to adjust.

"Hey, yourself! I managed to sneak in some of that food you wanted! After your hard work today, I figured I bring something back," Kelly smiled and unwrapped the cheeseburger and fries and popped the straw into the thick chocolate milkshake.

"Yum! Kelly Severide, you are my hero!" Matt dug into the meal.

"Well I am the one who got you out of the building and have been by your side the whole damn time, but hey I wouldn't change it for the world!" Kelly smiled and sat in the chair.

Matt smiled, "I appreciate it Kelly, and really I do! And this meal, _I REALLY APPRECIATE!_" He picked up a fry and shoved it into his mouth.

Matt finished his meal and Kelly threw the evidence away. They say there for a few more hours and talked about the guys at the station and how much they missed Matt and they sent him get well soon wishes. A nurse came in around 2100 and gave Matt his night time pain meds and made sure he had everything. Kelly said good night to his friend, "I am headed back to work tomorrow, so I will stop by when I can!"

"Ok, say hey to the guys for me!" and with that Matt closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Back on shift, Kelly walked in 15 minutes prior to his shift. He walked down to his office and stopped outside Matt's, "how is he?" He turned to see Boden standing there.

"Better, he walked yesterday, or attempted to," Kelly said glancing back to the door. Boden smiled and turned to leave his lieutenant. Kelly broke away and went and set his stuff down and made his way to the commons and found both crews, talking and carrying on, he smiled to himself and grabbed a banana from the counter, "Severide?" He looked up and saw Boden again.

He followed his chief into his office, "what's up chief?"

"Capp is acting lieutenant of the truck, so you are short one man, but I have faith in you," Boden explained.

Kelly smiled and nodded, "thank you, sir." He excused himself and went back to mingle. On his way back Dawson caught him in the hall, "Kelly? How is Matt?"

"Dawson, not now," Kelly tried to push his way past.

"Lieutenant, tell me he is fine, that's all I need to hear," Dawson's eyes watered up.

Kelly thought about it for a moment, "No, he's not alright. He is heartbroken, in pain physically and mentally."

Dawson couldn't stand listening to Kelly any longer and turned towards the locker room. Kelly sighed and was bout ready to sit down up against the wall when the tones went off for a car fire, "great"! He punched the concrete wall in frustration. He got into his gear and jumped into the officer's seat and they followed the truck to the scene.

Returning to the station, Kelly got out and started to help his crew with equipment to get back into service when his cellphone rang, "hello?"

"Hey Kelly, what's up?" Matt's voice quieter than usual.

"Hey, you ok?" Kelly listened to Matt and after only a few moments, he turned and trotted to Boden's office, "chief?"

"Hey, Kelly," Boden dropped the paper he was reading, "what can I do for you?"

"Matt just called and needs me for about an hour, that cool?"

Boden looked at the day's events and all were uneventful except for the calls, "sure," Boden nodded.

Kelly smiled and all but ran to his car and got in and sped off to the hospital, for Matt's physical therapy. Walking into Casey's room, "hey Matt…"but his voice trailed as he realized he walked into an empty room. He walked back into the hall and down to the room they were in yesterday. Matt wasn't there either. He began to panic when he found a nurse, "excuse me, Matt Casey. He's not in his room; can you tell me where I can find him?"

The nurse smiled, "he's down in the courtyard." She turned back to her duties.

He turned and found signs pointing him to the open courtyard; he squinted walking out into the warm sunlight. He scanned the yard and found matt sitting by a bench, his eyes closed, "hey!" Kelly said walking up to and sitting down on the wooden bench.

Matt opened his eyes and blinked a few times, "hey! Sorry to pull you away from work!"

"No biggie, have only had one call today, car fire," Kelly said.

Matt quickly changed the subject, "you know it's been almost a month since I have actually been outside. It feels nice!"

Kelly smiled and they indulged in conversation, mostly about sports and cars. Matt never brought up the station, guys or even returning to work. That concerned Kelly a little bit and decided to bring in reinforcements.


	23. Chapter 23

Kelly escorted Matt back to his room. And helped him back to bed, he was surprise at how Matt was moving about on his own, requiring very little assistance. He could still see the pain across his face as he put weight on that leg. He waited for Matt to close his eyes and do Lamaze breathing. He smiled and left saying good night. He walked out to his car and before he left, he called the guys at 51s and told them that they needed to think of something to help Matt out. Kelly's thinking was having a little get together in the courtyard in a few days. This was to show Matt that he was not alone and most importantly not forgotten by his men and fellow co-workers.

The next day at shift, Kelly held a "meeting" and discussed what should be done. After deliberation, it was set for the next afternoon at 2 pm to meet in the courtyard. Hermann and Otis were in charge of bringing a cake, Shay and Vargus where to bring party favors and the rest of the guys were to bring something to help Matt stay focused. Boden chimed in and reminded everyone that Matt's birthday was coming up so to focus more on his birthday than a get well.

"_Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61….respond to Chicago river, about 3 miles from the fork on 5__th__ street for a possible child in the river, unknown further," _dispatched chimed.

"Let's go!" Kelly jumped up and made his way to the squad to get his dive suit on along with Capp.

It took a little over an hour to locate and rescue the child from the ice cold river and get him to the hospital. They arrived back at the station and found Pouch, the firehouse pup, sitting in front of Matt Casey's bunker rack. He missed Matt, and that gave Kelly an idea.

The rest of the shift was uneventful and by the time morning came, they all bided farewell and headed off to get the things for the day's festivities. Kelly was one of the last to leave. He made sure the coast was clear and coaxed Pouch to his truck. He climbed in next to the dog and headed to gather what he needed.

Around 1:45 pm he pulled into the hospital parking lot and saw that the others had already arrived. He smiled and got out, Pouch following, "Kelly, what is Pouch doing here?" Mouch bent down to pet his couch mate.

"I thought Matt and Pouch could use some cheering up!" Kelly smiled patting the small dog on the head.

While the rest went to set up in the courtyard, Kelly and Boden went to bring Matt down. They walked in and Matt was sitting up in the chair, "hey Kelly, Chief! How are you guys today?" He smiled at his friends.

"Good, good! Come on let's go outside!" Kelly said not wasting any time.

Matt smiled and moved to his wheelchair, Kelly took the chair handles in his hand and steered him to the open courtyard. Opening the door, Boden signaled for the others to get ready. He motioned for Kelly to come out and as soon as Pouch saw Matt he broke away from Mouch and leaped into Matt's lap. Casey surprised smiled and graciously loved the kisses the mutt was giving him. He didn't notice the others. Once Pouch stopped licking him and jumped down, the others cheered and started singing "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks guys! It means a lot to me!" Matt smiled blowing out his candles. He looked at each crew member and thanked them; he scanned the crowd a few times and noticed that Dawson wasn't there.

"_Good! I didn't want to deal with her anyway!"_ He went back to enjoying the company he had. After an hour and a half of "partying" he motioned for Kelly to take him back to his room, "hey guys, thanks so much for this! It really means a lot to me! But I am kinda getting tired so be safe and see you soon!"

He waved to each member, when Kelly turned to take him back, Pouch laid down and whimpered, "oh Pouch! Come here!" Matt patted his good leg and Pouch again climbed into his lap and Matt cuddled with him for a few minutes, "you take care of them!" He told Pouch and with that Pouch climbed down and went and sat down by Mouch. He then barked, acknowledging to Matt he understood.


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry it's been awhile since my last chapter. This is the final chapter in this series. I hope you all have enjoyed. Thanks**

Kelly steered Matt back to his room in hopes that the day's events helped Matt realize that he had friends and most importantly a family. He helped Matt back to his bed and then stepped back and leaned back against the window, "worn out?"

Matt looked up and smiled, bags under his eyes and tears falling, "yea. But I don't regret the day Kelly. Thanks!" He fumbled with the blankets and wiped the tears away.

"What is family for?" Kelly stood up and smiled, patted Matt's shoulder, "I will see ya later. Sleep well!"

Matt watched his best friend leave. He knew from this moment on he was going to fight and fight, he wanted to be back with his family. There was no more of 'feeling sorry Matt Casey.'

Walking into the station the next day everyone was talking about the time they had spent with Matt the day before, even Pouch seemed to be better. Kelly smiled, knowing he only didn't brighten one person's day, he brightened everyone's.

The day went on with somewhat normalcy, and when 0700 hrs came around the next day Kelly decided to stop by the hospital for a quick visit before heading home to do some errands. He walked in to Matt's room and it was empty. He smiled and headed to the physical therapy room and saw it was empty too. He turned to leave when someone yelled at him to stop. Kelly turned around and saw Matt Casey walking under his own power, a little slow, but walking.

Kelly shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for his fellow lieutenant, "look at you, speedy!"

"Haha, not quite, but I figured I better start somewhere!" Matt patted Kelly on his back and headed back to his room. Settling into his bed Matt looked up and out the window, "yesterday, helped me a lot Kelly. It made me realize that in order for me to be me again, is I have to get up off my ass and do it. Seeing the guys made me realize I'm letting my family down," Matt paused, "I'm getting back on my truck. I'm coming back to Station 51!"

Kelly could do nothing but smile and acknowledge his friend. He left in good spirits that in no time at all Matt would be back to his old self again.

Weeks passed and Matt had progressed very well and was told that he would be released to go home and possibly go back to work within the month if his home therapy and follow up appointment allowed it. Matt shook the floor doctor's hand and walked out of the hospital. He called a cab and gave the address to station 51 to the driver, the guys were just starting shift and thought he would surprise them. Pulling up in the driveway he gave the cash to the driver and got out. He took a deep breath; he hadn't seen the station for almost 2 months now. He walked up to the open bay door and peered in, doing truck checks was Mouch, Mills and Hermann. Cruz was inside doing equipment checks. He glanced over at the ambulance and he saw Shay and Dawson doing their checks. Peering at the squad, the crew was doing theirs as well.

"Good to see that you guys still actually work!" Matt yelled, startling the men.

A cheer from the men and Matt was surrounding by the guys with handshakes, pats on the back or shoulder, hugs from Shay. He glanced at Dawson who was still at the ambulance, glancing up periodically. Boden and Kelly came out from the commons to see what the commotion was about, smiling when they saw what it was.

"Matt! Hey, when did you get released?" Kelly questioned.

"Just now! Surprise!" Matt laughed. He spends a few more minutes and bided the guys' farewell and went home to clean and do some errands.

Two weeks later, Matt made his way to the orthopedic office and signed in, today was the day he has waited for, 2 ½ months ago he was told he would never be a firefighter again. His name was called and he was taken back to small room. He waited for about 10 minutes when a knock at the door and in came the doctor, "awe Mr. Casey. How are we today?" He asked glancing at Matt's chart.

"Not too bad, anxious," Matt admitted.

The doctor smiled, "I can imagine. Now let's do some tests and go from there." The doctor got up and Matt thought he was going to die, not from pain just some of the odd positions he was being twisted into. After 5 or so minutes went by he helped Matt up and sat back down. Matt strained to see what the doctor was writing down, but couldn't.

"Well, considering what you have been through, you are very lucky. The trauma you sustained to your hip should have done much more damage. I have gotten your therapy results and everything looks good there. And your evaluation here shows…" The doctor paused scanning through more papers, "that you are indeed ready to head back to work. You have made a remarkably recovery."

Matt smile was from ear to ear as he just heard the doctor saw he could go back to work.

"Good luck with everything Mr. Casey," the doctor shook his hand and left the room.

Matt got up and all but ran outside, his release in hand. He headed towards the station. Skidding inside, he made his way to Boden's office, ignoring everyone calling for him, "Chief? I got it! I got it!"

"Whoa! Matt, got what?" Boden asked standing up, calming down the young lieutenant.

"My release! I can come back to work," he handed the paper over.

Boden smiled, "welcome back Matt! We sure have missed you. When do you want to come back?"

Matt looked at him and smiled, "now!"

"Go get your uniform on!" Boden patted his shoulder.

Matt ran to the locker room and quickly changed. Before leaving the locker room, he breathed a sigh of relief and emerged headed towards the kitchen/sitting area. Walking in the mood in the room immediately brightened. Everyone gathered around him, but he didn't see Dawson. He glanced at Kelly and Kelly pulled him back, "she put in a transfer about a week ago. She's gone." Kelly smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Her loss. She left a great family," Matt looked back at the men and smiled. Happy to be home. He almost didn't have time to wipe his tears when the tones went off for an overturned vehicle in the river. He smiled and ran towards the truck, happy to have his life back.


End file.
